Don’t Blame The Nerds: Explaining The Colonial Pipeline Hack And What To Do Next

Don’t Blame The Nerds: Explaining The Colonial Pipeline Hack And What To Do Next

Chris Bronk, Associate Professor University of Houston A Colonial Pipeline storage site in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 12, 2021. - Fears the shutdown ... [+] of the Colonial Pipeline because of a cyberattack would cause a gasoline shortage led to some panic buying and prompted US regulators on May 11, 2021 to temporarily suspend clean fuel requirements in three eastern states and the nation's capital. (Photo by Logan Cyrus / AFP) (Photo by LOGAN CYRUS/AFP via Getty Images) When I was seven years old, I watched my parents struggle to keep two cars gassed up through even-odd plate rationing and long lines at the pump. Since 1979, mighty have been the changes in the U. S. economy, in many ways for the better. With regard to resiliency, however, we have driven into a ditch. While many details remain unknown, the hacking of Colonial Pipeline, likely by a Russian cybercrime gang which calls itself DarkSide, indicates the poor state of cybersecurity in much of the critical infrastructure in the U. S. Like many other companies, from retailer Target TGT to IT firm Solarwinds SWI , Colonial's management was asleep at the wheel on cybersecurity. The company did what companies do,